Palladium is a rare metal with many unique properties which provide for widespread applications. For example, it can be used as a catalyst to convert harmful gases from automobile combustion into less harmful substances; it can be used in ceramic capacitors, fuel cells, and medical devices. Palladium has also been used in many electronics devices, including printed electronics.
In printed electronics, palladium inks frequently use a two-step process involving palladium salt deposition followed by introduction of a reducing agent to convert palladium (II) to palladium (0) metal. Other techniques may include electroplating and electroless plating. Problems arise with existing techniques due to the complexity of solutions employed and/or concomitant limits in tolerances and/or uniformity that can be achieved with these systems. Other issues with palladium ink deposition technologies include incompatibility of reagents with particular substrates on which the palladium is to be deposited. Thus, the array of substrates on which palladium can be deposited may be limited.